Bracing device for wall constructions

ABSTRACT

A KNOCKDOWN BRACING DEVICE COMPRISED OF A RESILIENT PRESSURE APPLYING MEMBER AND AN ELONGATED CLIP FOR HOLDING THE PRESSURE APPLYING MEMBER IS PLACE. THE BRACING DEVICE CAN BE USED TO CLAMPINGLY ENGAGE VARIOUS ELEMENTS OF A WALL STRUCTURE DURING THE PERIOD THAT AN ADHESIVE IS USED TO PERMANENTLY SECURE THESE SAME WALL ELEMENTS TOGETHER. THE PRESSURE APPLYING MEMBER IS ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE EXPOSED SURFACES OF A PAIR OF ADJOINING WALL PANELS BEING EMPLACED. THE ELONGATED CLIP CAN BE DISPOSED BETWEEN AND PROJECT THROUGH THE ADJACENT AND ABUTTING SIDE EDGES OF THE ADJOINING   PANELS AND CAN BE PROVIDED AT ONE PORTION THEREOF WITH MEANS FOR RELEASABLY ENGAGING A WALL SUPPORTING ELEMENT TO WHICH THE WALL PANELS ARE BEING ADHESIVELY SECURED AND AT ANOTHER PORTION THEREOF WITH MEANS FOR RELEASABLY AND ADJUSTABLY ENGAGING THE RESILIENT PRESSURE APPLYING MEMBER.

United States Patent [721 inventors Robert R. Chifloleau:

Rocco Papalia, Antioch. Calif. [2l] Appl. No. 675.395 (22] Filed Oct. 16, 1967 [45) Patented June 28,1971 [73] Assignee Kaiser Gypsum Company, Inc.

Oakland. Calif.

[54] BRACING DEVICE FOR WALL CONSTRUCTIONS 12 Claims, 10 Drawing Figs.

2.371409 5/l945 Glitsch 52/48) FORElGN PATENTS 551,276 2/1943 Great Britain 169/47 Primary Examiner- Lester M. Swingle Attorneys-James E. Toomey, Paul E. Calrow, Harold L.

Jenkins and John S. Rhoades ABSTRACT: A knockdown bracing device comprised of a resilient pressure applying member and an elongated clip for holding the pressure applying member in place. The bracing device can be used to clampingly engage various elements ofa wall structure during the period that an adhesive is used to permanently secure these same wall elements together. The pressure applying member is adapted to engage the exposed surfaces of a pair of adjoining wall panels being emplaced. The elongated clip can be disposed between and project through the adjacent and abutting side edges of the adjoining panels and can be provided at one portion thereof with means for releasably engaging a wall supporting element to which the wall panels are being adhesively secured and at another portion thereof with means for releasably and adjustably engaging the resilient pressure applying member.

PATENTEDJUN28ISYI 3,588,082

SHEET 2 OF 2 ATTORNEY BRACING DEVICE FOR WALL CONSTRUCTIONS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a temporary fixture or bracing device for use in effecting the final adhesive assembly of various elements of a wall structure. More particularly, this invention relates to an improved bracing device comprised of a resilient pressure applying member and an elongated clip. The clip has a configuration whereby it can be disposed between and project through the adjacent and abutting side edges of a pair of adjoining panels, while being connected at its respective ends to a back support and a pressure applying member and with the wall panels being sandwiched between the back support and the pressure applying member until the desired adhesive bonding of the wall panels to the back support is effected.

Various temporary bracing devices have been designed in the past for holding wall panels in engagement with the back support of a wall structure, during the adhesive bonding and/or assembly of the wall panels to the back support. These prior art devices, one example of which is illustrated in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,229,435 to Olsen, granted on Jan. 18, 1966, have not been satisfactory for one or more reasons. One of the principal deficiencies of the prior bracing devices resides in the fact that they are not usually reuseably by virtue of their becoming permanent parts of a wall structure and must be covered by batten strips, tape or the like. When used as a permanent fixture, the bracing device negates the smooth appearance of a finished wall construction since the bracing device is an integral part of the finished wall construction and forms a protrusion. Further, if the bracing device is such that it does not form a permanent part of a finished wall construction, any attempt to remove it from the wall construction may not only cause damage to the wall construction but also to the bracing device itself, thereby inhibiting further use of the same.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the primary purpose of the instant invention, therefore, to provide an improved bracing device for use with a wall construction made up of wall panels and a panel support wherein the bracing device includes unique means for releasably clamping the wall panels to the panel support until an adhesive used to secure the panels to the panel support firmly sets. The bracing device is of simplified construction and can be repeatedly used by unskilled workmen in assembling and adhesively securing various wall panels to various panel supports.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a typical wall assembly, parts of which have been broken away and illustrates how various embodiments of the bracing device of the instant invention may be used;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of the clip element for the bracing device of the instant invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged and broken sectional view generally taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1 with parts broken away and shows details of preferred embodiments of the bracing device of the instant invention;

FIG. 3A is an enlarged view taken generally along line 3A-3A of FIG. 3 of the upper embodiment of the bracing device as shown therein and with parts removed;

FIG. 3B is an enlarged view taken generally along line 3B-3B of FIG. 3 of the lower embodiment of the bracing device as shown therein and with parts removed;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3 of the upper embodiment of the bracing device as viewed therein and with parts removed;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged and broken sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 1 and illustrates in detail certain other vention;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectionalview taken along line 6-6 of FIG. I with parts added in solid and dotted lines and illustrates adjoining wall panels being assembled to an underlying wall panel by a bracing device of the instant invention;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of a fragmentized section of the wall construction of FIG. 1 and further illustrates adjoining wall panels being assembled to an underlying wall panel by a bracing device; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a channel shaped stud element and discloses how the clip element of a bracing device may be used therewith.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With further reference to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates several embodiments of reusable bracing devices or clamps identified respectively as bracing devices 10, 12, I4 and 16, all the devices being usable to releasably clamp wall panels 18 to a panel support during setting of the adhesive used to bond the panels 18 to a wall support to form a length of wall. Each of the several embodiments of bracing devices 10, 12, I4 and 16 includes a resilient pressure applying-member and an elongated clip. The panel support, as indicated in FIG. I, can include the usual spaced upper and lower runners 22 interconnected by series of parallel and spaced stud elements 24 or the panel support can comprise previously emplaced wall panels, one of which is appropriately cut away to receive one end of the elongated clip of the bracing device.

With reference to the specific embodiments of bracing devices that can be used in practicing the instant invention, and as indicated particularly in FIGS. 1, 3, 3A and 6, the embodiment of the bracing device identified by reference numeral It) comprises the clip 30, an elongated resilient pressure applying member 32, and a pair of panel engaging pads 34 appropriately affixed to the ends of member 32. Member 32 is provided intermediate the ends thereof with a cutaway slot 36. A clip engaging pin or U-shaped staple fastener 38 extends transversely across the slot and the ends of legs of the staple fastener 38 are driven into the body portions of the member 32 which bound the slot 36 in a conventional manner as best shown in FIG. 3A. Bracing device 12, as indicated particularly in FIGS. ll, 3 and 3B, is similarly comprised of a resilient pressure member 32 and a pair of corresponding panel engaging pads 34 affixed to the ends thereof.

A groove 40 disposed intermediate the ends of the member 32 is bridged by a U-shaped staple 42 which extends across the open end of the groove 40 and is driven into adjacent body portions of the pressure member 32 in the manner shown in FIG. 38. It is to be understood that slot 36 and groove 40 are each of sufficient size to insure free insertion and selective adjustment of the clip 30 used with each device 10 and 12 relative to pressure applying member 32 or 32', as the case may be, and as will be subsequently described in greater detail. Each of the resilient pressure applying members 32 or 32' of the bracing device 10 or 12 can be made of appropriate material such as wood, metal, plastic or various combinations thereof.

The resilient pressure applying members 44 and 44 respectively of the two bracing devices 14 and 16, see particularly FIG. 5, are each preferably made of a resilient and relatively thin strip of sheet steel. The resilient pressure applying member 44 of device 14 is advantageously bent into a U- shaped configuration in which the free-end portions are outwardly flanged so as to be in nesting engagement with the exposed side of the panels to be assembled to the back support of the wall construction. Member 44 is also provided with a cutout slot 46 located intermediate the ends thereof. The resilient pressure applying member 44 of device I6 can also be U-shaped and a clip receiving groove 48 is located in member 44' intermediate the ends thereof. As in the case of the slots in the bracing devices 10 and I2, the slot 46 and groove 48 of the respective bracing devices 14 and 16 are of a sufficient size to permit free insertion and selective adjustment of the clip 30 relative to the pressure applying members 44 or 44 with which it is used, as best illustrated in FIG. 5.

The clip 30 used with any one of the aforedescribed resilient pressure applying members of the bracing devices I0, I2, 14 and I6 is preferably formed by being stamped out of a length of relatively thin spring steel. As indicated particularly in FIG. 2, one end of the clip 30 can be provided with an inwardly extending and relatively narrow groove 50. It further includes a series of preferably diagonally disposed teeth generally indicated at 52, formed along one longitudinal edge 51 of the clip 30 and separated from each other by grooves 54. The edges of the teeth 52 defining the grooves 54 are inclined in a downward and inward direction toward the leading or forward end of the clip 30 provided with the groove 50. The lower ends of the teeth can be advantageously offset inwardly of or terminate short of the longitudinal edge 51 of the clip. The downward and inward inclination of the edges of the teeth 52 acts to prevent accidental or inadvertent disconnection of the clip 30 from its hooked connection to the resilient pressure applying members during use of the same as will become more apparent hereinafter.

In addition to the aforedescribed groove 50 at the hooked end of the clip 30, a further closed end slot 56 or score line can be advantageously formed therein. When the clip is provided with a slot or score line 56, it is used as a reference line for cutting into the clip such as along spaced dotted lines 58 (see FIGS. 2 and 6) by means of tin snips or the like to form a full cut out groove 57 therein. A wallboard can be fitted within the cut out groove 57.when it is desirable to use the wallboard as an anchoring means for the clip 30 during use of the clip such as for recovering a previously walled structure. In this instance, the length of slot or score line 56 can be made so as to deliberately be slightly in excess of the thickness of a standard wallboard or other wall covering. The other end 59 of each clip 30, which may be considered as the handle or manipulating portion thereof, can include a hole 6i that enables the operator to collect a series of clips 30, e.g., on a conventional stringing device, to facilitate the handling and storage of a series of clips 30.

In those instances where the back support for the bracing device constitutes a studding element 24, a series of spaced grooves 60 are cut or routed out of the panel engaging face of the stud 24 at appropriate points along its length, such as the two grooves 60 shown in FIG. 3. As indicated particularly in FIG. 4, a U-shaped staple or appropriate bridging element 62 is then disposed across the open end of each groove 60 and the legs thereof are driven into the stud 24. The configuration of element 62 and the longitudinal extent and breadth of the groove 60 are such as to allow free penetration of the hooked end of the clip 30 into each groove 60 so that the groove 50 of the clip 30 can fit over and be locked to the staple element 62.

In the event the stud element 24' is made of roll formed steel, whereby it is provided with a channel-shaped configuration of the type shown in FIG. 8, the spaced flanged portions of such a stud element 24' can include a series of elongated and closed end slots 64 appropriately formed therein. These slots 64 in the stud element 24' are adapted to receive the hooked ends of the clips 30, and it is to be understood, of course, that the channel-shaped studs 24' are normally interconnected to the usual channel-shaped runners (not shown) in order to form an overall back support similar to the one illustrated in FIG. 1.

Although various schemes or practices can be used in conjunction with the bracing devices of the instant invention for effecting assembly of the wall panels 18 or 26 as the case may be to u back support, normally an adhesive coating 66 is applied in it appropriate manner to the outwardly facing surfaces of the studs 24 in FIG. 1. If desired, the adhesive coating 66 can also be applied to the runners 22. The adhesive coating can be of any appropriate time setting commercial adhesive having the characteristics of firmly bonding dissimilar materials together while they are held in a clamped relationship. One

suitable commercially available adhesive found to be satisfactory is an organic adhesive, especially a rubbery water-resistant adhesive having a polyvinyl acetate base. After applying the adhesive coating to the studding, etc., one side of a series of adjoining wall panels 18 can be emplaced against the adhesively coated surfaces of the studs 24 such that the adjacent side edges of a pair of adjoining-panels 18 in said series of panels are in substantial abutting relationship to define panel seams l9 and 21 of FIG. I. If desired; the upper and lower edges of the panels 18 can be initially held in place against the back support such as by the nails 68 driven through the upper and lower runners 22 of FIG. l at the top and bottom of the adjoining panels 18 during the installation of the bracing devices of the instant invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the width of each of the emplaced panels is such that each panel normally spans four spaced studs 24, whereby the adjacent and abutting side edges of any one pair of adjoining panels always overlies one of the studs 24. In the embodiment of the bracing device 10, the hooked end of the clip 30 is forcibly inserted through the seam 19 formed by adjoining panels 18 and manipulated by the operator along the length of the seam 19 until the hooked end of the clip 30 registers with a grooved opening 60 in the stud 24. Subsequent to such registry of the hooked end of the clip, it is then further manipulated by the operator until the grooved end 50 of the clip contacts and becomes hooked to a staple 62 that bridges the opening 60 in the stud. Upon connecting the grooved end 50 of the clip 30 with the staple 62, the exposed end of the clip is then preferably inserted through the slot 36 in the member 32 and between the bridging means 38 and the upper end of the slot 36. Then the pads 34 of the member 32 are emplaced against the exposed and spaced surface portions of panels 18 along the adjacent edges defining the seam 19 between adjoining panels 18, while the member 32 is forcibly flexed inwardly such as indicated by the curvature thereof in FIG. 3. Next, the bridging means 38 of the flexed member 32 is selectively disposed within one of the grooves 54 of clip 30 and upon pivotal movement of the free or handle end 59 of clip 30 relative to the associated stud 24 there will be a locking of the clip 30 to the stressed member 32 and vice versa. This flexure of the member 32 forces pressure pads 34 into forcible engagement with the exposed surface portions of two adjoining panels 18 and acts to drive the adjoining panels 18 and underlying stud 24 together and to retain them in a clamped condition until panels 18 are firmly bonded to the underlying stud 24 after curing and setting of the adhesive coating 66. In other words as the downwardly and inwardly inclined tooth 52 ad jacent groove 54 of clip 30 is slipped over and engages a staple or pin 38 of member 32 during a selected pivotal movement of clip 30 in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 3, pin 38 of member 32 will be held in direct engagement with clip 30 at the same time pads 34 of member 32 are forced against the surface portions of adjoining panels 18 and panels 18 against stud 24 as a result of such engagement.

In contrast to the bracing device 10 being emplaced lengthwise along the seam 19 of adjoining panels 18, the bracing device 12 can be hooked to the same stud 24 as bracing device 10 so as to extend crosswise of the seam of adjoining panels, such as seam 19. Such extension of the device enables the pads 34 of the member 32 of device I2 to apply sufficient pressure upon spaced surface portions of adjoining wall panels 18 in order to effect the bonding thereof to the studs 24 that are spaced away from and on either side of the stud 24 which directly underlies the seam 19. The grooved end of the clip 30 associated with the device 12 is connected in the same fashion to the stud 24 underlying the seam I9 but to another grooved opening 60. as indicated in FIG. 3. Upon the pads 34 of the resilient member 32' being emplaced in nesting engagement with spaced surface portions on the exposed side of adjoining panels 18, the member 32' is flexed in a similar manner as member 32. After manipulation of the exposed end of the clip 30 relative to its hooked stud 24 and emplaced member 32, the bridging means 42 of the groove 40 on the member 32' is selectively disposed within one of the grooves 54 between adjacent teeth 52 of the clip whereby the flexed pressure applying member 32' is hooked to the clip 30. The stressed member 32 then causes the pads 34 of the device to forcibly engage spaced surface portions of the adjoining panels 18 overlying the spaced studs 24 disposed on either side of the seam 19 in FIG. 1 and thus induce sufficient bonding pressure between the opposed faces of the spaced studs 24 and the adjoining panels to be anchored thereto.

With further reference to FIGS. 1 and 5, it will be noted that the bracing device 14 of the instant invention extends lengthwise of the adjoining panels 18 along the seam 21 in a similar fashion as the aforedescribed device 10. The grooved end of the clip 30 is forcibly inserted through the seam 21 and connected to the bridging means 62 of a groove 60 of the stud 24 in the same manner as aforedescribed. The exposed end of the clip 30, after hooking of the grooved end thereof, is then inserted through the slot 46 of the member 44 while the ends of the member 44 are emplaced in nesting engagement with spaced surface portions of the adjoining panels 18 adjacent the seam 21. Upon such emplacement of the member 44, it is then manually forcibly spread open or compressed whereby it becomes stressed. With the emplaced member in a stressed condition, the exposed end of the clip 30 for member 14 is manipulated until one of the grooves 54 between adjacent teeth 52 of the clip 30 is slid over a body portion of the member 44 at the lower end of the slot 46 whereby the clip 30 also becomes hooked to the compressed member 44 so as to maintain the member in its compressed condition. At this time, the ends of the stressed member 44 force the adjacent edges of the adjoining panels into bonding engagement with the stud 24 underlying the seam 21.

The additional embodiment 16 of the bracing device of the instant invention as indicated in FIG. 1 extends crosswise of the seam 21 formed by another set of adjoining panels 18 in a similar fashion as bracing device 12. In this instance, after connecting the grooved end of the clip 30 to the stud 24 in the manner as described above, the ends of the member 44' are forcibly spread apart until they overlie the spaced studs 24 on either side of the seam 21. Upon one of the grooves 54 between adjacent teeth 52 on the clip 30 being aligned with the groove 48 in the stressed member 44, the exposed end of the hooked clip 30 can be manipulated into overlapping engagement with the lower edge portion of the member 44' at the bottom of the groove 43 whereby the stressed member 44' is also connected to the clip 30 and retained in its stressed condition. Upon connection of the clip 30 in this fashion, clip 30 of device 16 causes the ends of the stressed member 44 to create appropriate clamping pressure to hold adjoining panels 18 to the underlying spaced studs 24 until the adhesive 66 sets.

In the situation where the wall to be worked on involves recovering previously installed wall panels, any one of the four clamping devices can be used to effect assembly and bonding of a pair of adjoining wall panels 26 to an underlying wall panel 18' of the wall construction, In this case and as illustrated in FIGS. 6-7, the bracing device employs the clip 30 in a slightly different manner than when hooked to one of the studs 2d. In this instance, the operator cuts one or more openings 28 in an old panel 18' and another groove 57 in the grooved end of the clip and the length of this groove substantially corresponds to the thickness of the panel 18, all as indicated in FIG. 6.

After the operator applies a suitable coating of adhesive, generally indicated at 25 in FIG 7, to the exposed side of the panel 18' to be covered, a pair of adjoining panels 26 can be emplaced against the adhesively coated panel 18' and with their adjacent edges defining a tight seam 27 and with seam 27 being usually offset relative to the seams between the original panels 18'. The clip 30 is next forcibly inserted through the seam 27 and manipulated along the seam 27 until the groove 57 of the clip 30 slides over the body portion of the panel 18' at the bottom of the opening 28, all as indicated in FIG. 6, whereby the clip 30 is connected to the panel 18'. If desired and in order to maintain a tight seam 27 between the adjoining panels 26 during assembly, theupper and lower edges can be initially fastened to the upper and lower runners 22 by appropriate fasteners in a manner similar to that illustrated in FIG. 1.

After connecting the clip 30 to the panel 18', the exposed end of the clip is inserted through the slot 36 of the pressure member 32 between the bridging means 38 and the lower end of the opening 36 of member 32. Then the member 32 is flexibly stressed by being forcibly curved while being selectively connected to the hooked clip 30 between adjacent teeth 52 thereof, as indicated in FIG. 6 whereby the forceful engagement of the pads 34 of the member 32 with spaced surface portions of the panels 26 along the seam 27 creates sufficient bonding pressure between the opposite faces of the adjoining panels 26 and the underlying panel 18'.

Depending upon the results desired, the resilient pressure members of the various fixture or clamping devices 10, 12, 14 and 16 can be of any desired length so as to always extend to overlie the studs 24 spaced from the stud 24 directly underlying a wall seam 19 or 21, as the case may be. Moreover, even though no more than two bracing devices of the instant invention are located at any one seam in the aforedescription, it is evident that any suitable number of bracing devices can be mounted along the length of a given seam without adversely interferring with one another. Although the resilient pressure members 32' and 44 of the bracing devices 12 and 16 are disposed at right angles to the seam 19 or 21, as illustrated in FIG. 1, it is to be understood that the resilient pressure applying members 32' and 44' could be disposed diagonally of the seam 19 or 21 in extending crosswise thereof. Inasmuch as the various clamping devices 10, 12, 14 and 16 can be disposed lengthwise or crosswise of the seam defined by adjoining panels, there is always assurance that the adjoining panels will be adhesively bonded to the underlying back support without any buckling or distorting of the exposed portions of the panels that would otherwise mar the attractive appearance of the panels.

By virtue of the clip 30 being comprised of a relatively thin strip of material, the clip can be forcefully inserted into and removed from the seam defined by the abutting side edges of any pair of adjoining wall panels without affecting the tightness of the seam or distorting the seam, such as leaving a gap in the seam where the clip was inserted. In addition, the resilient pressure member of any one of the bracing devices in being selectively connected between adjacent teeth 52 of the clip 30 assures maintenance of sufficient bonding pressure even if the adhesive coating shrinks somewhat during the curing and setting thereof. In all instances, after the devices 10, 12, 14 and 16 have served their purpose, they can be readily removed from the walls to which they have been affixed so that they can be used over and over again. Furthermore, all of the devices l0, 12, 14 and 16 are made of relatively cheap materials.

Advantageous embodiments of the instant invention have been disclosed and described. It is obvious that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof as defined by the following appended claims, wherein:

We claim:

1. A demountable fixture device for holding adjoining panels in a releasably clamped condition against a support, with the adjacent side edges of the adjoining panels being disposed in abutting relation to each other, said device comprising a resilient pressure applying member engageable with the panels and a clip means for engaging said member and said support, said clip means having a hooked portion at one end thereof for releasably engaging the support, a handle portion at the other end thereof and an intermediate toothed portion for releasably engaging the pressure applying member, said clip means upon a predetermined manipulation of the handle portion thereof effecting an engagement of the hooked portion thereof with said support and an engagement of the toothed portion thereof with said pressure applying member in order to hold the pressure applying member in pressure contact with the panels and the toothed portion of the clip means being comprised of a series of diagonally disposed teeth arranged along one edge thereof.

' 2. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which said resilient pressure applying member includes slot means engageable by the toothed portion of said clip means.

3. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which said resilient pressure applying member includes groove means engageable by the toothed portion of said clip means.

4. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which the hooked and toothed portions of said clip means are disposed along the same edge thereof.

5. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the pressure applying member is in the form of an elongated barlike element.

6. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the pressure applying member has an approximately U-shaped configuration.

7. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which said support is comprised of a previously installed panel element to which said wall panels are to be adhesively bonded.

8. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said bracing device extends crosswise of the seam between the adjoining panels.

9. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said bracing device extends lengthwise of the seam between the adjoining panels.

10. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which said bracing device extends for a substantial distance crosswise of the seam of said adjoining panels to effect bonding thereof to more than one of said stud elements.

ill. A device'as set forth in claim 7 in which said previously installed panel element includes an aperture for receiving the hooked portion of said clip.

12. A demountable fixture device for holding adjoining panels in a releasably clamped condition against a support, with the adjacent side edges of the adjoining panels being disposed in a butting relation to each other, said device com-' prising a resilient pressure applying member engageably with the panels and a clip means for engaging said member and said support, said clip means having a hooked portion at one end thereof for releasably engaging the support and a handle portion at theother end thereof, said clip being further comprised of an intermediate toothed portion for releasably engaging the pressure applying member and a body portion located between said toothed portion and said hooked portion for separating the hooked portion from said toothed portion, said clip means upon a predetermined manipulation of the handle portion thereof effecting an engagement of the hooked portion thereof with said support and a separate selective engagement of the toothed portion thereof with said pressure applying member in spaced relation to said hooked portion in order to hold the pressure applying member in pressure contact with the panels and the toothed portion of the clip means having a series of diagonally disposed teeth arranged along one edge of the clip means. 

